His own valise and that belonging to Mr. Joyce came down on top of him, and as both were heavy, they knocked the breath completely out of him.
As soon as the boy had somewhat regained this and his scattered senses, he scrambled to his feet, and tried to look around him.
Daylight shone into the car from the windows above, but all was dust and confusion, mingled with the cries of women and the loud exclamations of men.
Luckily Richard was not far from the rear door, and having somewhat recovered from the shock, he resolved to get out as speedily as possible.
The car had now stopped moving, and as there seemed to be no immediate danger of anything more happening, the boy stopped to get the two valises.
With such a load it was no easy matter climbing over the seats to the door. Yet the feat was accomplished, and two minutes later, with an exclamation of relief, Richard pitched his baggage to the bank beside the track, and sprang to the solid ground.
His foot had been slightly sprained when the shock came, but in the excitement he hardly noticed the pain. He could readily see that assistance was needed on all sides, and he was not slow to render all that lay in his power.
The cause of the accident could be seen at a glance. A heavy freight train had backed down from a side track, smashing the locomotive attached to the passenger cars, and throwing three of the latter off the track.
One of the cars—the first—had been turned completely over, and to this every one was hurrying.
"It's the smoking car," replied a man, to Richard's eager question.
"It's full of men, too."